


transformers socks

by redlight



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Crushes, Fluff, I hope this is cute, Lance LOVES IT, M/M, Meet-Cute, Pining, Pining Shiro (Voltron), Pre-Relationship, Shance Secret Santa 2017, Snow, Winter, hockey team au lowkey?, matt holt is a shitpost, shiro and keith are roommates, shiro hates winter, shiro is very silly, shiro wears nerdy socks and ill die for this hc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-25 21:31:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13221645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redlight/pseuds/redlight
Summary: “Please help me,” Lance asks calmly. The lights are draped heavily over his shoulders, wrapped harshly around his arms, and he’s trying to lift a good bulk of it over his head, and it looks –ridiculous.Lance’s cheeks are flushed a little red from the cold - he’djustwandered in, unzipped coat and ugly red sweater and all, with a blue backpack overstuffed with supplies like lights and decorations and whatever else. He even had a blue candy cane sticking out of his mouth, staining his lips with sweet, artificial color.Cute. Lance istoo much, but he’s also really, really cute.In other words, Takashi Shirogane is kind of a mess.





	transformers socks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sehuns_bag_of_Lays](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sehuns_bag_of_Lays/gifts).



> oh goSH this is my super late secret santa gift for banana-bits on tumblr!! ah h h!!! they asked for winter fluff and i tried;; 
> 
> so there might be a chapter two?? with the coffee date?? bC I REALLY WANNA WRITE A COFFEE DATE NOW?? AH

**❅**

This is the third time.

This is. The _third time_.

Shiro groans, hikes his blanket high enough to cover his ears – it’s wrapped around him like a cape, like a _blanket burrito_ as Keith put it, and Keith keeps making fun of him for it but – but Shiro doesn’t care anymore, okay? It’s cold and it snowed 30 centimeters last night and Shiro does _not_ have the willpower to _deal_ with Keith’s crazy friends singing _All I Want for Christmas is You_ with trumpet and trombone accompaniment.

It’s not that Keith is a bad roommate, or that Shiro doesn’t like him, or anything like that, it’s just –

 _Zero. Willpower_.

Not for _this_.

He pads across the carpet in his socks – see, okay, Keith’s a good roommate, honestly, he got Shiro _socks_ , big fluffy socks with Transformers on them because Keith is a nerd and Shiro is a nerd and Keith _won’t let anything go_ , ever –

Anyway, it’s 3pm, whatever, Shiro’s _still_ not in the mood for – this. Keith’s not home, he’s out – practicing at the hockey arena, or something, maybe he's at the gym or something, but – Shiro has papers to write! Assignments to grade. He still has to add the daily new item to his Reasons to Live list. The last thing listed, in Keith’s shitty slanted all-caps handwriting with the red ink that bleeds terribly, was _THE FEELING WHEN YOU SLIP ON ICE AND DON’T FALL TERRIBLY IN A WAY THAT COULD HORRIBLY DAMAGE YOU, AND SO YOU FEEL THE ADRENALINE RUSH OF AVOIDING DEATH._

All of it. All twenty-nine words, _Shiro counted_ , they’re smushed into the Reasons to Live list that he and Keith keep up on the fridge. _Well_ , it’s a blank calendar with cute puppy pictures from 2002, but – they might as well use it for _something_ , so each box for each day is another Reason.

Keith’s new addition takes up four boxes and it’s barely legible and it looks like bloodied writing from a shitty horror movie, but it’s fine. Really.

Anyway, Shiro’s got two pairs of socks on – just a simple black pair and then Transformers on top – and he’s drowning in Keith’s favored red blanket but it’s _warm_ and it’s something like -21 **°** Celsius outside. And he’s pounding over to the door, where, for the third day in a row, there’s the brazen cadence of brass instruments and a voice trying to imitate Mariah Carey to...varying degrees of success.

Shiro slams the door open, and then tries not to flinch as a sudden brush of cool air flutters into the apartment – the complex’s hallways are always _so cold_.

He’s greeted with the sight of – two teenagers, _wait is that Pidge when did she play the trumpet –_ and also Matt, who’s holding the trombone. And grinning. ‘Cause Matthew Holt is a walking shitpost.

“ _Hey_ , Shiro,” says Matt. His teeth are spread into this self-satisfied, shit-eating grin, with his coffee-stained teeth from nights upon nights of staying up to get assignments done.

Shiro’s about to – okay, well, he’s not completely sure what he’s about to do, hopefully it’s not _scream like a child_ but he’s honestly not sure at this point, he’s just trying to handle this in a decent, respectable way, oh he is _trying –_

“Wait, you’re not Keith,” says the unfamiliar teen – he’s tall and cute and lanky, his brown skin flushed rosy-red from the cold. Pretty blue eyes, except blue means _cold_ and _ice_ and _snow_ so they’re not pretty enough for Shiro to _deal with this_ – “Shit, Matt, wait! You didn’t tell me Keith had a hot roommate! I – _Matt_!”

Matt is laughing, like an asshole.

“Sup, Shiro,” says Pidge. She’s wearing this ugly, oversized alien Christmas sweater which is _offensive_ because Shiro has had _enough of Christmas_ – even though it’s only December 14th – also, how is she only wearing a sweater? _How?_ It’s so –

So –

_So –_

Cold!

“It’s freezing,” Shiro says numbly.

“Yes, it is,” says the unfamiliar kid. His cheeks are a little brighter, he’s grinning nervously and the laugh that tumbles out of his mouth is...just a little hysterical. “Super cold! Always freezing! At least the snow is fun, though? Super fun!”

He’s rambling enough that his teeth chatter, his loud voice a little accented and a lot enthusiastic, sprinkled with nervousness. His voice is _nice_ to listen to, though – and even if he was a bit offkey, the kid’s singing voice was...really good, too. _Interesting_ , a little unconventional, but low and vibrational in a sweet way. Pleasant to listen to.

“Um,” Shiro says, and the kid – actually tenses up. “What’s your name again?”

Matt snickers, tosses an arm around the jittery kid’s shoulders. “And _this_ is Lance, Mr. Trainwreck Disaster himself – ”

And the kid – _Lance_ – starts sputtering. “Excuse _you_ – ?”

“Trainwreck Disaster is pretty light,” Pidge notes. "We probably need to think of something more severe."

Lance huffs. "Thanks, Pidge. Thanks. Real supportive."

Shiro looks back and forth between them, and then, steeling himself against the cold and the frost and forcing himself to keep the door open just a bit longer, because shutting the door on people is _rude, incredibly rude_ – "Lance, right?"

Lance, well, he blinks and looks up at Shiro and he's _smiling_ – nervously. Definitely nervous. "Yeah! Hi, you're – Shiro?" And he holds his hand out, a hesitant hope in his eyes. No gloves, but unlike Pidge, Lance at least has a moderate coat slung over his shoulders. Unzipped, but, _at least_. "Nice to meetcha!"

Shiro smiles, strained, and shakes that ice-cold hand of his. This is fine.

"You look like you want to die," Matt points out. "Lance isn't that bad, I promise."

"I'm not – _Matt_!" Lance whirls around to glare at Matt – his coat is thin, canvas jacket that's a dark olive green and brings out the warmth in his skin, and it flares out behind him dramatically, _because once again_ , it's unzipped. What's the point of wearing a coat if it's unzipped? Shiro desperately wraps the blanket around himself even more tightly.

“Anyway,” Matt says smoothly, holding Lance away calmly as Lance tries to swat at him. “We just wanted to say hi to Keith.”

“‘Cause he's the newbie,” Pidge chimes.

“‘Cause he’s the _worst_ ,” Lance grumbles, stepping away from Matt to cross his arms and huff.

Shiro stares blankly at them. “Um – Keith’s not home right now. And you guys are…?”

“His hockey team,” says Matt.

Shiro stares at him. “Wait, Matt, you still play hockey?”

The three of them are all staring at Shiro blankly, and _you know what, he’s still tired and trying to live, okay?_ He’d appreciate if they didn’t blame him.

Also, the chill is biting through his socks now. _All_ of his socks.

Shiro – well, he tries not to sigh, but he smiles as best as he can and offers, “Alright, so. You guys want to come in for some tea?”

**❅**

So, Lance is actually pretty cute.

He’s got a pretty voice that’s a little on the loud side, but it’s _endearing_. He’s got a bit of an accent, but it’s pretty hard to notice – “ _We moved from Cuba when I was 12, and there was_ so much snow _, kinda a culture shock!”_ – and he’s always grinning and smiling and he keeps showing up to Shiro’s apartment –

Just to see Keith.

Which, um, that makes sense! It’s not as though – it’s not like Shiro is _disappointed_ by that, or anything. It’s nice to see Lance in general, even if he is always showing up to....play? Pranks? On Keith.

Like, right now. Lance is here.

Covered in Christmas lights.

“Please help me,” Lance asks calmly. The lights are draped heavily over his shoulders, wrapped harshly around his arms, and he’s trying to lift a good bulk of it over his head, and it looks – _ridiculous_.

Lance’s cheeks are flushed a little red from the cold - he’d _just_ wandered in, unzipped coat and ugly red sweater and all, with a blue backpack overstuffed with supplies like lights and decorations and whatever else. He even had a blue candy cane sticking out of his mouth, staining his lips with sweet, artificial color.

 _Cute_. Lance is _too much_ , but he’s also really, really cute.

He's also covering Shiro’s place with lights.

“You know,” Shiro starts, looking at Lance’s frazzled form over the rim of his coffee cup. “That I don't celebrate Christmas, right?”

Lance – stops, then starts sputtering. “I – _okay, no, I didn't,_ but I’m doing this to piss Keith off.”

Shiro stares at him blankly.

“What?”

“He's such a grouch!” Lance argues. “He'd probably hate it all, and I just wanna make him and his stupid mullet mad, okay?”

"You're doing this all just to make him mad?" Shiro deadpans, and Lance zooms by, in his oversized winter sweater that's so – _cute_ on him, it’s big enough that his sleeves are rolled up and it’s bright, eye-searing red with snowflake-and-tree patterns. And Lance has the lights wrapped around him crazily as he climbs up the stepping ladder – he _brought it_ , it’s his own because Shiro and Keith don’t _have one_. And Lance just reaches up haphazardly, trying to hang more lights up on the ceiling.

Shiro snorts and clutches his mug closer to his chest.

"I like seeing him mad!" Lance yelps out, nearly slipping because of his socks – these cute blue and pink snowflake-patterned socks, warm and fluffy. Lance has amazing taste in socks, which, y’know, that doesn’t make him _perfect_ or anything, but maybe –

Maybe he’s a _little_ bit perfect.

"You pay too much attention to him," Shiro says casually, trying not to glower at the new _Reason to Live_ Keith added to the calendar. Black ink this time, and no bleed, so at least it doesn't look like Keith's Personal Texan Horror Story anymore?

The newest reason is this, still all caps; _THAT MOMENT WHEN LANCE AND MATT FINALLY STOP GODDAMN TALKING_.

Which, alright, relatable on Matt's side, but as Lance rambles on about how " _Keith won't ever pass without everyone bitching at him for it, that stupid mullet-infested batman_ – "

Well, Shiro’s desperately fumbling around in a kitchen drawer looking for a new pen, to write in a new Reason to Live, because the last one was _mean, Keith, it's mean_.

“Did you just call Keith Batman?” Shiro says absentmindedly, locating a navy blue pen and yanking the cap off with his teeth. _Lance's pretty laugh_ for today’s Reason means that Keith will _never stop teasing_. The same goes for Lance’s big, teasing grin, and his soft-looking brown hair, and the shine in his eyes when he’s excited about drowning in wires –

Shiro writes down _strings of lights_ , because yes, he’s this pathetic.

“Shiro!” Lance calls out. “I thought you were gonna _help me!_ ”

“You know that Keith actually _really likes_ Christmas, right?” Shiro says, moving around the counter as he sets his mug down on it. Lance is still atop the stepping ladder, still tangled up wildly, and –

Shiro steps close and delicately helps lift a tress of lights from over Lance’s head. “Uh, is this better?”

Lance is a few inches taller than him, like this, on the step – and he’s gazing down at Shiro with his lips parted slightly, with a slow pink flush spreading across his cheeks, and Shiro thinks, _maybe this was too much, maybe I’m too close, maybe he wouldn’t want this –_

– And Lance giggles, nervously, giddily, excitedly, it’s hard to _tell_ , and says, “Ah, thanks Shiro! You’re a real lifesaver, y’know? I was about to _drown_ in those – ”

And the thing is, Lance takes a step off the ladder, steps close enough for Shiro to feel the warmth of his breath. Close enough for Shiro to eye the light splash of freckles across his cheeks, close enough to –

“ – I forgot!”

“Huh?” Shiro startles, steps back, and Lance jumps off the ladder, forcing strings of lights into Shiro’s arms just to dart into the kitchen.

“Gimme a sec, I brought something and I have to _find it_!” He’s fumbling around with his backpack, where he had left it perched up against the kitchen counter, and Lance is –

Zooming up to Shiro again, because Lance never stops _moving_ – like a snowstorm, like a flash freeze all at once, except Lance is _warm_ – his smile is warm and the flush on his cheeks makes Shiro's heartbeat spin a little faster. Lance hums and sings under his breath, Lance cracks his fingers obnoxiously, and he fidgets and he plays with his hair, and he bites his lips pretty-red because he can't sit _still_ and it's the most endearing thing Shiro's ever _seen_ –

And now Lance is shoving a box into Shiro's hands. This silvery little box with a dollar-store fancy, blue ribbon stuck on top, and Shiro could just lift the lid to see what it is. But Lance is – _looking_ up at him, timidly but with a wide grin, too, and it brings a flustered smile to Shiro's face, as well.

"You didn't have to – "

"It's cookies!" Lance says abruptly. His pretty blue eyes go wide and he laughs nervously. "I mean, _uh_ – me and Hunk made cookies and I kept asking Keith if you'd want anything but he didn't help _at all_ – except he said you liked sweets? So – so I made – I didn't know what you _liked_ , do you like chocolate chip? Chocolate chip is a safe bet, and sugar cookies, right? And gingerbread?" Lance is rubbing at his elbow with his hand, like he’s cold, like Shiro should take him in his arms to warm him up with a hug – and Lance’s arms crossed over his chest like he's trying to hold himself together, and seeing Lance so _flustered_ is making the little tiny butterflies in Shiro's lungs spike up and flutter wildly. "Wait, _do_ you like cookies?"

" _I_ –" Shiro isn't a Christmas person, he'd never really celebrated it past his parents occasionally getting him a present when he was younger, and having to sit through grade school caroling sessions for way, way longer than he'd ever wanted to sit through – but Lance is looking at him so genuinely and he's rambling and the lights of the apartment catch on Lance's eyelashes so prettily, makes them shine gold and sunny –

"Thank you, Lance," Shiro says, hoping his voice doesn't sound as dazed as his heart feels. “I – yes, I do like cookies, thank you so much, you didn’t – have to – ”

"No – no problem! It’s okay, " Lance says, and, oh, he – does the finger guns thing. Keith always complained about it, but Shiro is _pathetic_ and _infatuated_ and it sort of just makes his stomach flutter. “I wanted to! I like you a lot, um – also – also, _listen_ ,” and Lance flashes this small shiny grin at him, cute and just a bit timid. “Wanna go out for coffee? Sometime?”

So, uh – Shiro is actually pretty _totally gone for him_ , and he nods his head yes a little too enthusiastically.

**❅**


End file.
